


Local Raccoon Man's Struggle To Act Like A Normal Person

by youngavengerfeels



Category: Captain America - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Fluff, M/M, not to steve, the cat's an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:36:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9231119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youngavengerfeels/pseuds/youngavengerfeels
Summary: Bucky knows he's a hot mess and he's accepted it. He doesn't need any asshole cat or judging hipster to remind him of that.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The title was my working title but I couldn't think of anything to replace it.

All Bucky wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep until the end of the world, but was realistic enough know at best he was only going to get maybe four hours of sleep before needing to get up for his morning class. The first thing he did after closing the door of his apartment was strip off his way too tight skinny jeans. He literally couldn't breath in those pants but whenever he wore them he got more tips at the bar he worked at  and he needed the money. He put on his ratty sweatpants that honestly should have been thrown away a couple holes ago but they were too comfortable to give up. He threw on his NYU hoodie that he had felt compelled to buy after enrolling in the university even though it pretty much cost more than his food budget. 

He threw his phone on the couch and went to the bathroom to grab a makeup wipe because he maybe dead tired and given up on life but he wasn't going to let his skin suffer for it. He had just started rubbing the eyeliner off when he noticed movement from the corner of his eye. Whirling around Bucky almost fell over. He curse internally, he had been in the army for six years, he should be able to handle a home intruder better than this. 

Turned out his home intruder was just a cat. A cat that was not Bucky’s and that he had no idea how it got in since his windows were painted shut. The cat looked healthy and clean, like it was a house cat. The apartment complex allowed pets so mostly likely it was one of his neighbor’s cat. He walked over to the door opening it to see if anyone was out there looking for a cat, but the hallway was dead quiet which made sense at 3am. Turning back into his apartment Bucky strolled over to cat who is lounging on his couch like it owned the place. 

“Hey buddy,” Bucky says reaching a hand out to let the cat sniff. “Where are you supposed to be?” He asked before the cat bit his hand hard making him regret going for the pet, but could resist the cat was so fluffy. He tried reaching out his left hand to let the cat get used to him but that only seems to make it worse. The cat hissed and backed away from Bucky. 

“Ok, so no touching. I feel you there, I haven't really been ok with that whole human contact thing for a while now too,” Bucky said moving to sit on the couch. He wasn't sure him trying to have a conversation with a cat was a testament to how tired he was or how few human relationships he had at this point. 

With the strength and agility that Bucky didn't know cats could possess, the cat grabbed his phone in its mouth and bolted out of his apartment. He cursed himself for not making sure his door had properly closed as he proceeded to chase said cat down the hallway. Because the universe was against him, someone had left the stairwell door ajar and the cat was much faster at taking the stairs than Bucky. He really needed to work on his cardio. 

The cat managed to make it to the door right as someone entered, Bucky nearly knocking the person over in his haste to catch the cat.  Bucky was seriously wondering if someone trained this cat to steal people’s phones in some sort of bizarre organized cat crime ring. Either way he had the cat cornered in the alley beside the apartment building. 

“Hey! Leave that cat alone!” Someone yelled distracting Bucky. He turned to see this impossibly small guy running toward him with a face twisted in anger. 

“He’s got my phone!” Bucky yelled back. The guy stopped, looking a little confused, which was fair because why would a cat even need a phone? Who did it have to call?

“What?’ he asked in a voice too deep for his body, that totally did not affect Bucky at all. 

“That asshole comes into my home uninvited, bites me and steals my phone. See if I ever show a cat hospitality again,” Bucky rants aware that he sounds crazy. The guy looks between Bucky and the cat who was licking itself and then back at Bucky. He looked even more confused now and his anger seemed to dissipate with the confusion. He looked a lot smaller without the anger propping him up. 

“Well that still isn’t a reason to abuse an animal,” the man said in a self righteous voice that made Bucky roll his eyes. He wasn’t really going to hurt the cat, just scare it off, which the cat totally deserved. 

“You got a better way, be my guest pal,” Bucky said gesturing to for the man to have at it. The man rummaged through the bag he was holding that Bucky hadn’t noticed and pulled out a take out container. He grabbed a plastic fork and skewered a piece of chicken. He squatted down close to the cat, but far enough away not to get swatted by an errant paw. 

While the blond tried to lure the cat away with a piece of chicken Bucky couldn’t help but admire the way the man’s pants clung to his ass. The cat stoped licking its ass and regarded the man waving food at it with disinterest but seemed intrigued by the actual food. It nabbed the piece of chicken and chewed in it, then moved to rub against the man’s legs purring loudly. 

The man grabbed Bucky’s phone and scratched the cat’s head like that cat wasn't a manipulative piece of shit. He handed over Bucky’s phone giving him a weird look. Bucky knew this whole situation was ridiculous, he knew he looked like a crazy raccoon man compared to this gorgeous hipster. This is what his life had come to, him in an alley ready to fight a cat. If he was being honest with himself, which he rarely was, he probably would lose said fight with the cat. Still he didn't like the idea of the hipster judging him, he could judge himself enough for the both of them. 

“Of fucking course that asshole cracked the screen. I'm going to kill that cat.” Bucky mumbled flipping over his phone. It was a old crappy one that he had been meaning to upgrade but hadn't wanted to undergo the stress of the store to actually get a new one. Natasha would say that cat had done him a favor by cracking the screen because it would force him to get a new one. Bucky knew what was actually going to have was, he was going to live with that cracked screen because a cracked screen was better than having to deal with figuring out how to buy a new phone. 

The man stepped forward, blocking Bucky’s view of the cat. He looked ready to fight Bucky just as much as when he had first ran yelling into the ally, even though Bucky was like double his size. He couldn't help but admire the guy for his guts. Now that he wasn’t locked in battle with a cat he actually looked at the cat whisperer. The dude looked like he was in high school, but dressed like the hipsters Bucky saw hanging around campus. He was wearing a button up shirt tucked into khakis under an open cardigan. Bucky could see blond hair poking out from under a beanie. The man had on huge thick rimmed glasses. Altogether it could look really nerdy but the man seemed too ready to fight him to pull of the nerd vibe. He just looked like one of those little dogs women carried in their purses that were ready to throw down any minute of the day.  

The man looked undeniably good though. It made Bucky even more aware of how trashy he looked in his sweatpants that had enough holes in them to make Bucky nervous about being charged with public indecency. He also had been half way through taking his makeup off leaving dark circles around his eyes. He looked like a human disaster. It didn’t really matter because Bucky was too embarrassed about needing some hipster twink to save his phone from a cat for him, to hit on the guy no matter how hot he was. 

“Thanks for your help,” Bucky mumbled before making the quickest retreat of his life. When he got back to his apartment he made sure the door closed properly to prevent any other asshole cats from wandering in.

Bucky wasn’t sure why Clint and Natasha insisted on coming to his apartment to hang out. They claimed it was just convenient but neither of them lived anywhere close to him. Also their apartments were much nicer than his. Even Clint’s which was saying a lot because Clint was such a human disaster, it made Bucky feel good about himself in comparison. Bucky was pretty sure they subjected themselves to the long trek and shitty apartment because they knew if it was up to him to go see them, they would never see him again. 

It wasn't that he didn't want to be around his friends, it was just harder than it used to be. During high school Bucky hated being alone. He was constantly surrounded by people and practically fed off the energy. After getting back from two tours in the army Bucky found it almost draining to be around people, even his friends and family. When he had been living with his parents, trying to figure out where his life was going, it had been so stressful. He found that family dinners would rob him of his stamina and ended up with him hiding in his room all day just to prepare himself for them. His parents’ had freaked out over his personality change, but tried to be supportive and said he would get better as long as he kept going to therapy and taking his medication. 

Bucky didn't think it worked like though. He didn't think just because he was taking medication all of a sudden he was going to enjoy parties again. It had upset him at first that his personality had seemed to change so drastically after leaving the army but now he didn't mind so much. His therapist had assured him that it was normal for people to change as they grew up and experienced new things and the army had been one hell of an experience. 

Bucky had jumps at the chance to move out on his own when he decided to go back to school. His relationship had been strained with his parents during his transition home. They had fought more than they had at the height of his rebellious teenage phase. Now that he was out of the house he couldn't help but see his relationship with his parents improve. 

The unintentional side effect was that living on his own made it so much easier to isolate himself from his support network. Without his parents just down the hall there was no one there to silently judge him into functioning like a normal human being. Sometimes he just didn't have the energy to do anything so he would just sit in bed not realizing hours had passed while he fell in and out of sleep. 

He wasn't sure how he ended up with friends like Nat and Clint. We Bucky had started to pull away from him they started putting more effort into seeking him out. They didn't mind when it took him hours to muster the energy to text them back let alone hang out with them. They would send him texts warning him they were coming over with enough time for him to back out if he really couldn't handle them that day but close enough that he wouldn't have to stress about them coming over for too long. 

He loved his friends and didn't know what he did to deserve them. Although now they were both sitting on his couch laughing at him for letting a cat get the best of him, he was not so impressed. He should have known better to tell them but even he could admit it was kind of a funny story. 

“It’s not that funny guys, come on,” Bucky grumbled. 

“It kind of is bro,” Clint said with a grin Bucky wouldn’t mind wiping off his face. 

“I for one am proud of Bucky for interacting with another human being without getting punched, even if it was a close call,” Natasha said like it was some big accomplishment. Which to be fair it kind of was now a days. Whenever they went out together it always ended up with Bucky either having a panic attack or with Bucky starting a fight. It was honestly safer for everyone to just hang out at his apartment. 

“Hardy har, I hope you guess are having the time of your lives making fun of me,” Bucky whinned. 

“Don’t worry we are,” Natasha said with a grin. Bucky kicked her good naturedly only to have her push him off the couch entirely. “But really, Bucky. Hearing you talk about how much you hate that cat is the most passionate we’ve heard you in awhile,” Natasha pointed out. Bucky wanted to protest but knew she was right. 

“Don’t forget about the hipster!” Clint interjected making Bucky groan. “You said ‘he came running down the alley looking like a righteous ball of fury with an ass that just won’t quite’,” Clint said giggling his ass off. Bucky groaned again. He did say that and regretted it even though it was true. 

“I have eyes guys. It’s my right as an American to appreciate when someone is aesthetically pleasing,” Bucky argued. Natasha rolled her eyes at him. Bucky was pretty sure with the amount she rolled her eyes at him and Clint someday they were going to get stuck. 

“This is the most interest you’ve shown in a person since you got back. Maybe this is a sign that you’re ready to put yourself out there and start dating again,” Natasha offered in a much more serious voice. Bucky instantly felt his anxiety starting to act up. Even the idea of trying to find someone to date was too much for Bucky right now. He felt drained after a couple hours with Natasha and Clint who were his best friends there was no way Bucky was going to be able handle getting to know someone well enough to date them. 

“I just thought he was hot Nat, it’s not that deep,” Bucky said hoping his voice did portray how anxious he was.

“Well you never know, now you promised up beer and board games and I for one am ready to kick both your asses at monopoly,” Natasha said rubbing her hands together. Clint shared a look of terror with Bucky. Natasha was downright terrifying when she got competitive. 

 

Whoever came up with the idea of group projects is probably laughing at Bucky from the spot in hell specially reserved for them. Bucky hated group projects. In high school he had loved working in groups because he could just talk to his friends and somehow the work still got done. Now Bucky wanted to go back in time and punch his younger self. He was the person everyone hated in group projects and prayed they didn't get partnered up with. Now that he was on the other end of the spectrum, the one actually doing most of the work he resented his former self. It also didn't help that he was the oldest one in his group by a good six years so they just assumed he knew more then them. 

He had just spent the last four hours in the library trying to corral a group of freshmen into actually doing their work. He was ready to either kill someone or sleep for the rest of the weekend. Neither of which were a viable option so Bucky was going to have to settle with watching cartoons on Netflix and eating more microwaveable food than his mother was comfortable with him eating. Just a classic Tuesday night now a days. 

He was struggling to get his key out of his pocket when he heard a little meow. He looked down and saw that damn cat hanging out a couple doors away from him. 

“You better stay over there if you know what's good for you,” Bucky warned. “There aren't any hot hipsters to save you this time.” 

Apparently he wasn't competent enough to talk and find his key because he ended up spilling his backpack all over the hallway. Luckily it was only the cat that saw, so to least he didn’t have to worry about being embarrassed, not that he really cared what his neighbors thought about him. He had heard way too much of Ms. Jenkins's personal calls through paper thin walls to worry about her sharp gaze anymore. 

He was too busy scooping everything back into his backpack to notice the cat creeping up on him until the fur ball dart across his pile of stuff on the floor, snatching his apartment key. Bucky was starting to sense a theme with this cat. For some reason the cat had decided to steal his stuff at the most inconvenient times. 

“Don’t you dare eat that!” Bucky hissed at the cat. Lucky the cat listened to him and did not swallow the key, but instead dropped it. The cat had stopped a couple doors down from Bucky’s apartment, he wondered if that was the cat’s owner’s apartment and if so if it would be appropriate neighbor behavior for him to complain to the owner about their thieving cat. 

“I’m just gonna come over there and get my key now,” Bucky said shuffling on the floor toward the cat who looked at him unimpressed. “It would be super nice if you didn’t bite me.” Bucky watched in horror as the cat stared him in the eye as it batted the key under the door of the apartment. “You’re an asshole you know that?” Bucky spat at the cat tempted to give the cat a little kick when he stood up. He didn’t because he did have morals and just because he was mad at the cat didn’t mean it deserved to be kicked. But oh was he tempted. 

Bucky prayed the apartment owner was home because he did not want to have to call Natasha who had his only spare apartment key. He knocked on the door shooting the cat a glare. He can hear shuffling coming from inside the apartment which means at least he wasn’t going to have to call Natasha. As long as he kept his mouth shut no one would ever need to know about this; just him, the cat, and whoever lived in this apartment. The door swung open revealing a familiar blond hipster.  

“Ummm” Bucky said staring down at the man completely forgetting why he he had knocked on the door in the first place. They stood there for a few moments in silence awkwardly, Bucky’s face burning with embarrassment. He use to be smooth now he couldn’t even talk to his neighbor. 

“Did you need something?” The blond asked eyebrow quirked.

“The cat kicked my key into your apartment,” Bucky blurted out. The guy looked confused stepping back and looking down at the floor. Sure enough Bucky’s key was lying by the guy’s feet. He bent down and picked it up, flipping it around his fingers in a way that said he wasn’t really conscious of doing it. He handed it over to Bucky with an amused look on his face. They stood there looking at each other again without saying anything. 

“Um, thanks,” Bucky said making a tactical retreat. 

“You got to stop doing this shit,” Bucky said in a warning voice at the cat who probably would have rolled their eyes if cats did that sort of thing. “You need to stop embarrassing me in front of pretty boys. I can do that myself,” Bucky said unlocking his door. He was careful to close the door before the cat could follow him in because he was not going to encourage that kind of behavior. 

It would be his luck that the cat whisperer lived not only in his apartment building, but just down the hall. Life truly was unfair sometimes. All Bucky wanted to do was earn his engineering degree and mind his own business. He was a good person, alright. He helped old ladies in his building carry their shopping bags up the stairs because their elector was broken again. He had pulled a kid out of the road before he could get hit by a car the other week. The point is Bucky was a good person and his karma should reflect that. He didn't deserve to be tormented by a cat and have attractive hipsters judging him. Although he guessed judging people was a main draw of becoming a hipster. Now he was going to have worry about those too blue eyes judging him anytime he left the apartment. 

Bucky did find himself putting a little more thought into his appearance for the next couple weeks. He wasn't really sure why he was trying so hard for a neighbor he didn't really know, and didn't really plan on getting to know better. Before his tours, he had cared a lot about his appearance. He had been voted best looking, best hair, and most likely to become a model in high school. Bucky's knew he wasn't an unattractive guy, but nowadays he seemed to do his damn best to hide it. He had shrugged it off when Natasha had pointed that out to him, but now he was acutely aware that everything in his closet was in shades of black and on the shabby side. At least all of the clothes he wore to the bar were tight and showed off his well toned body. 

All his effort seems to go to waste though because every time Bucky found his eyes wandering toward the man’s apartment the door was shut. It felt kind of weird that Bucky knew where the guy lived but not his name. Especially since Bucky had a crush. He wasn’t so proud that he couldn’t admit he had a small crush on the guy. He wasn’t going to pursue it because the guy had a knack of only showing up when Bucky was doing something embarrassing and looked like absolute trash. 

No, it was better to just admire from afar. Bucky was much less likely to do something so embarrassing he would have to move that way. If his mind started to wander and focus on a certain slight blond, that was fine. 

 

Bucky has running on fumes and it was only the first day of finals. It was his first semester of college so he was only taking general requirement classes that didn't really matter in the long run, but Bucky had his pride and wanted to prove he could do well. He probably shouldn't be making his gpa a representation of his personal health and worth, but what his therapist didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right? 

His first final was at 6am because the university wanted them all to freeze to death on the commute to campus. He didn't really understand why his 9am class needed to have its final 3 hours before the normal class period but what did he know. Normally the campus Starbucks didn't open until 7am but in the infinite wisdom of capitalism they were opening two hours early for the week of finals. There wasn't too long of a line when Bucky stumbled in. He had seen the line wrap around the building in the height of midterms so Bucky counted the line only going to the door as a small victory. He had his humanities final in about an hour and if he was going to stay awake enough to write the essay portion he needed some sugary coffee. 

Bucky was all about efficiency, so while he waited in line he had his flash cards out going through terms and names he knew he was going to forget right after the semester ended. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about the subject, but Bucky wasn’t the kind of person who remembered names and dates. He understood the concepts and could apply them, but he couldn’t tell you who came up with them and when.  

“I think it's your turn,” a familiar voice said breaking Bucky’s concentration. He looked up and realized it was in fact his turn to order and then behind and saw a pair of blue eyes that were becoming more and more familiar. 

Bucky couldn't help but blush as he scurried to place his order. Most of the tables and couches were already occupied by students who looked dead to the world, but Bucky managed to find one pressed up against the glass window. He had about half an hour before he needed to get to his final so Bucky pulled out his notes again for some good old fashion cramming. He didn't remember having to try this hard in high school, but then again he hadn't gone through a serious head trauma that left him with memory issues in high school. Growing up kind of sucked like that sometimes. 

“Hey! Is this seat taken?” That deep voice asked making Bucky’s head spring up so fast he probably got whiplash. The blond was standing behind the chair across from Bucky giving him a soft smile. You would think that the blond hadn't seen him being targeted by a cat, by the way the blond was looking at him. Bucky shrugged and the man smiled, sliding the chair out to sit. Bucky noted that the Starbucks was busy, but there were other chairs and tables the man could have sat at. 

They sit in silence waiting for their coffees. Bucky tried to concentrate on studying his notes, not the incredibly attractive man he had no chance with because the man had already seen him acting as crazy as he felt. 

“How’s your cat doing?” The man asked breaking the silence. Bucky stared at him in confusion for a moment. Did he really think Bucky would keep that monster as a pet? Sure, he had started putting out food and water dishes for the cat, but he wasn’t cruel, he didn’t want the cat to starve. He must have a look of pure horror on his face because the man visibly wilted. He was saved from answer by the barista who started calling out orders.

Bucky grabbed his embarrassingly sugary drink and scurried back to the table, maybe small, blond, and angry was just getting his drink to go, but of course Bucky wasn’t that lucky. The blond scoots back into his chair, making an obscene nose that does not go straight to Bucky’s dick as he sips his coffee.

“I'm Steve by the way,” the man said. It was actually nice to get a name to put to the face instead of thinking of him as stupid things like the cat whisperer. 

“Bucky,” he grunted in reply because that was the normal thing to do not just openly stare. 

“What are you studying?” Steve asked head nodding toward the flashcards laid out on the table which Bucky had completely forgotten about which is bad for his gpa but Bucky thinks is perfectly reasonable because this is the first time he’s gotten to talk to Steve without that damn cat there to make him look bad. He can make himself look bad without any outside help, thank you very much. 

He kind of wished he had remembered to shower the last couple days, but it was finals. Bucky thought he should get a little credit for even remembering to put on a clean pair of jeans. He was wearing his NYU hoodie under a oversized ratty jacket he had gotten at Goodwill. It might make him look homeless but it was hella warm. So he was sitting there sporting the greasy, homeless college student look while Steve sat across from him looking like he walked out of an indie music video. He looked so put together in his north face coat over top a flannel. He even had a scarf that matched his beanie. 

Bucky wondered if being able to assemble a real outfit during finals was a precursor to being considered a real adult. If it was part of the criteria then Bucky was screwed because his personal style was what he liked to call hobo chic. Natasha said adding the word chic at the end didn't actually make his apathy about his clothes cute, it was just sad. Natasha was like a real, real adult with a full time job and a beautiful apartment so Bucky normally deferred to her opinion. But if she thought he was going to get rid of his hobo jacket she could pry it from his cold dead hands. 

Bucky wanted to run into Steve just once when the blond looked like a slob and Bucky looked like a real person. That would mean Bucky actually taking care of himself which wasn't going to happen so it was only a pipe dream.

“Intro to Humanities.” Bucky said. 

“I took that when I was an undergrad. I thought it would be a fun elective but all it really did was make me question my faith in humanity,” Steve said with a sympathetic tone. So Steve was probably a grad student then. Bucky had assumed Steve was a freshman like him based on his size.

“It's not as bad as Intro to Women’s study. That's where you really learn to hate your classmates,” Bucky said. Steve actually laughed at that nodding in agreement. 

“That class was almost torture which is a shame because the topic is really interesting and should be taught, but there are always those people who refuse to be taught and assume their life experiences supersedes all of history in terms of racism and sexism,” Steve said. 

“On the first day of class this dude just starts ranting about how feminism is the real oppressor and the fact that he’s require to take this class shows how political correctness has ruined academics. Then when he’s done and the whole class is staring at him in abject horror, he has the full to turn to me the only other guy in the class and say ‘this guy knows what I'm talking about,’” Bucky recounted. Steve was gaping at him in horror. Bucky had told the story to his parents over the phone while he had been loafing around his apartment, but they didn't seem to appreciate how horrible his classmates were like Steve did. Bucky shouldn't be surprised that someone who dressed like Steve would be on the same page as him on this. 

“What did you do?” Steve asked attentively. 

“I told him to fuck off if he thought I wanted any part of the shit he was trying to sell. I advised him to either get his head out of his ass and actually listen to the women in the class telling him he’s wrong or transfer out,” Bucky said. Steve nodded like Bucky had answered some unsaid question correctly. 

“There was a guy in my class who felt the need to assure the class that HE wasn't the kind of guy in all the stories the women in the class told,” Steve said rolling his eyes. 

“He was probably only there to try and hook up with them,” Bucky said knowing way too many dudes like that in his Humanities class. 

“Well someone should have told him we all saw through his shit,” Steve said with a smile that Bucky couldn’t help but return. His phone starting buzzing. “That's my alarm telling me if I don't get a move on I will be late for my final. It was nice talking to you Bucky, I'll look out for you around the apartment,” Steve said before rushing out of the store. 

Bucky stared after him before realizing that he just successfully managed to have a conversation with Steve. It wasn’t an accomplishment he should probably be proud of, people had conversations with really hot neighbors everyday, but ever since Bucky had gotten back Stateside he was been more withdrawn, only really talking to his family and Nat and Clint. So the fact that he been able to not only have a conversation with Steve, but enjoy it was a pretty big deal to him. It totally made up for the fact that he wasn’t able to concentrate on cramming  for the next hour. If he didn’t know it at this point that extra time wasn’t going to help anyway Bucky figured as he let his mind wonder back to the way Steve’s checks had been pink with cold even though the Starbucks was fairly warm.

 

He started noticing Steve around the building more often. He doesn't actually go talk to him because that would mean Bucky would have to act like a normal human being and he was quite there yet. He comes home once and Steve is just getting home but he’s with a very good looking black man. Another time Steve is just getting back as Bucky is leaving. Steve smiles and waves hello, and for a moment Bucky just stood there in the hallway not knowing what to do. Then awkwardly returned the wave before running away. 

“You know this is your fault right?” Bucky said pointedly at the cat lounging on his couch. He still had no idea how the cat was getting into his apartment but he figured at this point he better just accept it and move on with his life. He still had a healthy fear of the cat though so he tended to avoid wherever the cat decided to perch. That’s why even though there was plenty of room on his couch, Bucky was on the floor eating pizza. Natasha would laugh at him for being afraid of a cat, but Bucky could be honest with himself. 

“If it weren't for you I would be blissfully unaware of how hot my neighbor is,” Bucky complained. “I could live in blissful ignorance about how not only is Steve super hot in a twink sort of way, but he’s also really smart. Who told him he was allowed to do that?” Bucky said sullenly shoving food into his mouth. The cat just stretched out with a yawn by caring about bucky’s heartache; the heartless bastard. 

Bucky was kind of embarrassed to admit he spent way too much time thinking his crush on Steve, but to be fair it was winter break so he didn't have much else to think about. It wasn't like his job at the bar required much thinking. He had picked up a seasonal job doing gift wrapping at a department store to earn a little extra cash. He had no idea how particular people were about their wrapping until he he been chewed out for 15 minutes by a soccer mom who claimed to be too busy for him to take his time making sure his gifts were wrapped properly. Bucky knew he wasn't meant to be working customer service jobs. He did not have the right attitude for it, but it paid the bills while he finished his degree. Still he couldn't wait to be done with his seasonal job. It was kind of weird to have to wonder which job the glitter clinging to his hair was from. 

Every time Bucky had seen Steve he had looked so nice in outfits that had to have been prepalanned. The only pre-planning bucky put into his wardrobe was sniffing his shirts to find the freshes one. Steve probably didn't find himself covered in glitter very often. Although now that he thought about it, Bucky and noticed that while Steve seemed to take care in his outfits and hair, he was also normally a little messy in other ways. Bucky had seen him with paint on his nose more than once and his hands almost always looked like they were smeared with something black. 

“Get it together Barnes, you've only had like one real conversation with the guy. This is starting to border on creepy,” Bucky said to himself. The cat meows as if he was agreeing with Bucky’s self deprecation. He glared at the cat for good measure. Bucky didn't think it was fair for the cat to judge him because clearly it had made some poor decision of it had to rely on him for food. 

At least the conversation thing was something Bucky could work on. He knew where Steve lived and knew he went to NYU. It shouldn't be that hard to have a normal conversation Steve was always friendly when Bucky saw him. All he really had to do was walk up to the guy and start talking. 

“Just commiserate about having to go back to school,” Bucky muttered to himself as he climbed the stairs toward his apartment. “Say something. Don't just stare at him like you're the heroine of some romance novel,” Bucky muttered glad there was no one else in the stairwell to hear him talking to himself. That's just what he needed.

He definitely didn’t look longingly at Steve’s door as he passed it. That would be pathic, which Bucky definitely was, but not for that. 

“Hey! I'm glad I caught you,” Steve said just as Bucky was putting his key into the door. Bucky’s heart did that thing where it would beat way faster than was strictly necessary in Bucky’s opinion. “Your cat must have gotten locked amour because I found him pawing at the door morning something fierce. I didn't want someone to kick him out of the building so he’s chilling in my apartment,” Steve explained. 

Bucky stared at Steve confused for a second. He had never really thought about the car getting locked out before. It was always just there when it wanted to be, normally when it wanted Bucky to feed it. Also that wasn't his cat. He was going to tell Steve as much, but the blond was already turning, gesturing for Bucky to follow him toward his apartment. There was no way Bucky was going to pass up the opportunity to get into Steve’s apartment even if it was because of that damn cat. 

Steve’s apartment was a mess. It was by no means dirty, but every surface was cluttered with art supplies, books, and other random junk. It made Bucky irrationally pleased to see Steve with a less than perfect apartment. He probably should have guessed that Steve was an artist. Him always being covered in glitter and paint suddenly made sense. Bucky also felt like he understood the guy’s aethic a little better now. 

“He’s around here somewhere,” Steve said with a sheepish look. Bucky was pretty sure Steve’s apartment was heaven for a cat. There were boxes everywhere and plenty of stuff to knock off of high places. It made Bucky wonder why the cat had decided to torment him instead of Steve. Which reminded him, that he should probably inform Steve that the cat he was looking for didn’t actually belong to Bucky. 

Just them the little shit itself came running out of what probably was Steve’s bedroom. It looked like it was carrying a piece of paper with what looked like a drawing on it. Steve rushed to grab the paper, but the cat just dodged him making a beeline for Bucky. It dropped the paper in front of him and then retreated back to Steve who was glaring down at the cat like it had betrayed him, which knowing that cat it probably had. 

“Looks like he found something he liked,” Bucky said picking up the paper flipping it over to see the drawing. Bucky was pretty sure his eyes were bugging out of his face as he looked down at what was clearly a picture of him. It was a drawing of him wearing his hobo jacket, eyeliner smudged like it normally got after a long shift at the bar. His shoulders were hunched with tiredness. It was a facking good drawing and Bucky had no idea Steve had been watching him. 

He looked up to see Steve’s entire face and visible part of his neck bright red. He was glaring down at the cat like it had personally betrayed him. Bucky couldn’t help but laugh at the justice of it. Finally the cat’s asshole tendencies weren’t directed at him. Steve’s face snapped up at Bucky’s laugh, chin jutted out looking ready for a fight. 

“Sorry, I’m not laughing at you, well I guess technically I am,” Bucky sad doing nothing to help the situation, but he couldn’t stop laughing. 

“Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better,” Steve said sarcastically. 

“No, really that cat is an asshole and I’m just glad someone else is finally at the tail end of it,” Bucky said finally gaining composure. “But this is really good Steve,” Bucky continued in a more serious tone. Steve fidgeted nervously, lifting a hand to pick at something on his sleeve. 

Steve looked more nervous than any other time Bucky had ever seen him. He wondered if he was that obvious with his nervous. It made Bucky feel good to know that he wasn't the only one not totally ok. Although he wasn't really sure what Steve had to be nervous about. That drawing was ficking fantastic. It was an honor that Steve had even found him worthy enough to draw. Maybe he just had a weird fascination with his neighbor raccoon man. 

Bucky wanted to ask him about it, but the words got stuck in his throat. He wasn’t sure what he could say that wouldn’t make it obvious the Bucky had a huge crush on the dude. Or maybe that was exactly what this situation needed. 

“I have to say I’m honored that you would consider me worth drawing,” he said with a huff of a laugh. 

“How could I not draw you, you're gorgeous,” Steve burst out and sequentially looked like he wanted to put his foot in his mouth. Bucky couldn’t help the wolfish grin that spread across his face. If it was even possible Steve’s face became even redder. Bucky didn’t agree with Steve’s assessment, not by a long shot, but he was so incredibly happy that Steve had even looked at him with some kind of interest.

“Yeah think so?” Bucky asked with an impish grin. His heart was pounding in his chest but it felt good to tease Steve playfully. 

“Yeah. The first time I saw you in the alley you looked so good it was practically indecent” Steve said moving toward Bucky slowly. 

“I’m pretty sure that was the condition of the sweetpants, not me,” Bucky said with a laugh. Steve shook his head.

“It’s all you Bucky. You make my hands itch to draw you,” Steve said coming so close he was practically chest to chest with Bucky. 

This was it, Bucky thought, this was really happening. All he had to do was tilt his head down and he could kiss Steve who looked like he wanted it. He was about go in for the kiss when there was a sharp pain in his leg making him hiss and step back. He shook his leg to try and get that damn cat off of him. 

“I don’t think your cat wants to share,” Steve laughed taking a step back. God, Bucky could listen to that laugh all day and not get tired of it. He had it bad. Bucky mourned the loss of the moment, but now that he knew Steve was interested he didn’t get discouraged. They stared at each other smiling like idiots for a couple seconds before Bucky decided he better go before he over stayed his welcome. 

“Would you mind if I kept this?” Bucky asked lifting the drawing still clutched in his hand. Steve shrugged. 

“Sure, I feel like that only fair since I didn’t exactly ask for consent before I drew it,” Steve asked suddenly looking nervous again, like he expected Bucky to get mad at him even though Bucky had thought he made it clear he was only flattered by Steve’s pen. 

“Thanks, I better get going though, I’ll see you latter?” Bucky asked hoping he didn’t sound too desperate. Steve bit the his lower lip in a way that distracted Bucky, and nodded. Bucky beamed at the blond nodding back before turning to leave. The cat followed him out. Bucky was so happy that he was even considering willingly letting the cat at into his apartment for the night. 

He was just opening his door when Steve came flying at him, surprising him. Steve was pressed in close to Bucky’s chest, pulling him down for a kiss. It took a moment for Bucky’s brain to catch up with what was happening, but when it did he returned the kiss with more gusto than finase. It wasn’t a particularly long or intense kiss but it was still the most amazing thing that had happened to Bucky recently. 

When Steve pulled away he placed both his hands on Bucky’s chest and looked up at him coyly. “Come see me tomorrow?” He asked. Bucky could only nodded but Steve beamed at him before giving him one last peck on the lips and turning to go back to his apartment. 

Bucky stood frozen in his doorway for a good five minutes after Steve left him. It wasn’t until a shrill, demanding meow penetrated his racing thoughts that Bucky snapped out of it and entered his apartment. He couldn’t keep the goofy grin off his face though. Steve liked him. Steve like him enough to draw him and kiss him. Bucky went to bed that night dreaming about hipsters and cats.

 

Bucky’s favorite thing to do was make out with Steve. It was only slightly spoiled by the demon cat who seemed to take personal offense when Steve’s attention was on Bucky and not it. Still even that damn cat could ruin how good it felt to his his lips on Steve’s, one hand tangled in blond hair the other clutching at Steve’s hip. 

They had been dating for a few weeks now and it was better that Bucky could have hoped for. It was a little awkward at first, but once they got going it was hard to stop talking and laughing. It was like Steve was always  meant to be a part of Bucky’s life and Bucky just hadn't known he was missing anything until he had Steve. A part of Bucky was remorseful that Steve hadn’t been part of his life sooner, but mainly he was glad Steve was in it now. Both Clint and Natasha had commented on him seeming happier and he was proud to be able to say he felt happy. Steve made him feel giddy inside. 

They spend most of their time in each other’s apartment. If Steve doesn't wander into Bucky’s apartment Bucky knows that Steve is wrapped up in some art project. Bucky loves watching Steve work. Steve is a little ball of passion and that really comes out when he’s making art. 

They do go on dates though and Bucky is so proud to be able to show Steve off. He finds as many excuses as possible to call Steve his boyfriend. He doesn't mean in a possessive way he just loves hearing the word. Whenever Steve calls Bucky his boyfriend it sends a whole body tingle through Bucky. 

The one thing they haven't done yet is meant the family and friends. Bucky’s family definitely knew about Steve because Bucky couldn't shut up about him, but They hadn't made the trek over to actually meet Steve. Bucky wasn't worried about anyone not liking Steve because really, not loving Steve would be a crime. Clint had already proclaimed he liked Steve without even meeting him because Steve had managed to make Bucky stop glaring all the time. 

What Bucky was worried about, was meeting Steve’s friends. The way Steve talked you would think he was friends with a bunch of geniuses and people who were generally out of Bucky’s league. Bucky was just a 25 year who joined the military right out of high school because he didn't think college was an option. When that blew up in face, literally, he had been totally lost. He wasn't stupid but sometimes he felt like he was in class won't people seven years younger than him and light years ahead of him on the material. He still had trouble having conversation with strangers and being out in public toolong, but Steve never made him feel bad about it. In fact Steve seemed to get mad for him whenever Bucky was feeling bad about himself. But still Bucky was nervous to meet Steve’s friends. 

“So I have a proposition for you,” Steve said from his laying in Bucky’s lap. They were laying on Bucky’s couch, Steve’s laptop in his lap while they watched Parks and Rec. They had both already seen it a million times but the show was good and when finally stopped making out they were actually able to follow the show. 

“Mmhmm,” Bucky hummed into Steve’s hair.

“My friend is throwing a party this weekend. I normally would avoid his parties like the plague but they are guilting me into going because I haven’t seen them in a while,” Steve said. 

They both knew that Steve hadn’t seen his friends because him and Bucky were literally living out of each other’s pockets at the moment. Bucky felt a little guilty about hogging all of Steve’s attention. 

“I didn’t really picture you as the partying type,” Bucky teased. Steve titled his head back sharply effectively head butting Bucky. 

“I said I don’t normally do that kind of thing but Sam was ranting about all kinds of statistics about people losing on average three friends when they enter a new relationship and that he didn’t want be one of the three,” Steve said apologetically. Bucky snorted at that. He didn’t even have three friends to lose. Well if you counted Steve then he had exactly three friends. “It’ll be an experience though. You can meet my friends,” Steve said. 

“Yeah alright,” Bucky agreed going back to playing with Steve’s hair and watching mindless tv, dying a little bit on the inside.

Partying wasn't really Bucky's scene but he would jump off a moving train if Steve asked him to; which was absolutely terrifying because he barely knew the guy. He felt like a middle school kid with their first crush. He may have called Natasha right after Steve had invited him to squeal at her, but he would deny it to his dying breath. Bucky wasn't completely sure why he agreed to go since he could barely handle being around his study group let alone a bunch of strangers. He knew he was going to end up following Steve around like a lost puppy, which was not a cute look. 

"How the fuck did you get invited to a party in Stark Tower?" Bucky couldn't help but blurt out as they rose the elevator higher and higher.

"Oh, didn't I tell you Tony's throwing a end of winter break "drown yourself in alcohol before school can kill" party," Steve said putting air quotes around the end, a look of distaste on his face that told Bucky that it was a direct quote.  It took Bucky a moment to realize that Tony must be the Tony fucking Stark, who Bucky knew attended their school but he only knew that in the same way that he knew famous actors and singers lived in NYC without him ever seeing them. He kind of just assumed Tony paid tuition, did his own thing and at the end of NYU would give him a diploma. He didn't think attendance policies applied to multi-billionaires.

It also took Bucky a minute to connect that fact that this all meant that Steve knew Tony Stark well enough to get invited to his party. Bucky was so out of his league. He had been preparing himself for adults sitting around drinking wine, not a fuckung Tony Stark party which regularly ended up on the news for causing some form of minor catastrophe. Fox News still liked to bring up the time Tony accidentally cashed a minor economic crash in France with one of his ragers. There was no way this was not ending badly.

"You didn't actually answer my question," Bucky said hoping Steve couldn't notice his impending panic attack. 

"I meet Tony throw his girlfriend, Pepper who was in my art history classes," Steve said with a wave of his hand like it was nothing that he knew one of the richest men in the world. Bucky was sweating. There was no way Steve;s friends were going to approve of him, Bucky didn't even approve of himself. He knew he shouldn't put so much stock into people's opinions of him, but these were his boyfriend's friends. Their opinion of his mattered. 

The penthouse was packed with people and alcohol. Bucky was terrified of getting separated from Steve and just froze in the doorway. Luckily Steve was better at this than him and just slipped his hand into’s Bucky’s and gently led him along while he looked for his friends. 

Bucky could feel himself starting to get overwhelmed with all the people bumping into him and the blaring music was making his head hurt. He had already decided he wasn’t going to drink. Steve had asked him if it was ok for him to drink or if Bucky would be more comfortable with him staying sober. Bucky gave Steve his blessing to get wasted if he wanted to, but Bucky himself wasn’t going to partake. 

Steve tugged Bucky to a stop in front of a group of people. The only person Bucky recognized was Tony Stark because of the amount of tabloids he was in. Steve went around introducing his friends, trying to raise his voice over the music but failing. Bucky was only able to catch a couple names. Before Bucky could figure out what was happening Steve was running away. 

Bucky was halfway to a panic attack when the person he thought was Sam started talking to him.

“It’s nice to finally meet you Bucky. I thought we were going to have to storm your guy's’ apartment building to get Steve to come out,” Same said extending his hand out to Steve. 

“Yeah. Sorry about that,” Bucky sheepishly. 

“You look like the kind of person we normally kick out of the building,” Tony said brashly. Bucky gaped at him like a fish. 

“You disgust me,” Sam said in a tone that Bucky couldn’t tell if it was friendly or hostile. 

"I’m just saying that Steve's about as wholesome as apple pie and his boyfriend looks like he’s a homeless assassin," Tony said. Bucky stared at him him unsure of what he was supposed to do in this situation. He wanted Steve to come back.  

"Man, do you ever get tired of the bullshit that comes out of your mouth" Sam said thankfully. Bucky was more than ready to let Sam take the lead for this. "Steve has gotten us banned from more places than your annoying ass has," Sam said. Bucky let out a bark of laughter at that. He could totally picture Steve in all his hipster glory causing a scene because of some injustice. 

"Hey!" Steve said appearing out of nowhere at Bucky's side. Bucky slung his arm around Steve's shoulders further tucking him into his side. Bucky felt a little less tense with Steve next to him, radiating heat into his side. "What are you guys talking about," He asked eyeing his friends warily. 

"They were just telling me about how much of a punk you are," Bucky said with a grin. 

"It’s all lies, I've never done anything wrong in my life" Steve said instantly with a smirk that said otherwise. 

"I know babe," Bucky said pulling Steve in to kiss the top of his head. Tony made a gagging noise. 

Steve didn’t leave him alone for the rest of the night, which Bucky was grateful for. He ended up having a better time than he thought he would. Steve helped pull him into conversations and was good at reading him when he was getting uncomfortable and need a break. They were plastered to each other’s sides which gave Bucky a sense of comfort. 

Steve got steadily drunker as the night went on. It was funny to watch him go from the well put together to lose and friendly. Steve was handsy when he was drunk, Bucky had to stop wandering hands more than once. Bucky decided it was time to go when Steve passed out on the couch while Bucky was using the bathroom. He had to fend off a drunk Tony Stark with a sharpie. It was a good thing Steve was small because otherwise there was no way would have been able to get them home since he had to practically carry Steve. 

He got Steve tucked into his couch , but when he tried to make his way to his own bedroom Steve’s iron grip dragged him back onto the couch where he had to awkwardly spoon Steve to fit. Bucky was first to wake up, which was not surprising at all. Steve’s head was on his chest in a growing pile of drool that even Steve’s cute make look cute. When Bucky disentangled himself from Steve’s skinny limbs, the blond just groaned and rolled over. 

Bucky made them a quick breakfast while Steve slowly woke up. His blond head peaked out from the back of the couch a look of utter pain on his face. Bucky couldn’t help but smile to which glared back at him. 

“Coffee,” Steve demanded making grabby motions with his hands. Bucky rolled his eyes but brought his majesty a mug of coffee. Steve made the most disgustingly inappropriate noise as he took a sip. “Sorry if I got a little crazy last night,” Steve said with a shrug. 

“You were fine until you passed out,” Bucky said leaning into the couch. “It was fun,” he admitted. 

“Mhh, it was nice to finally get to introduce my boyfriend to my friends,” Steve said. “Next step is me meeting your parents don’t you think?” Bucky couldn’t keep the stupid grin off his face. For the first time ever he was seeing Steve looking like a hot mess. His clothes were wrinkled from sleeping on the couch, his hair looked like smoothing was building a nest in it, and his skin all blotchy. He even had sharpie still on his face. 

“Sorry, I just can’t have a serious conversation with a guy who has a dick drawn on his face,” Bucky said with a laugh.

“You let Tony draw a dick on my face?” Steve asked in a hurt voice.

“Sorry babe, he got to you before I could protect your honor,” Bucky said in his best remorseful voice. 

“Is it at least a good drawing of a dick?” Steve asked as if the quality of art was really what was important here.

“I mean it's no  _ Steve Rogers _ piece of art, but it's alright,” Bucky teased. Steve smiled leaning over the couch to pull Bucky into a kiss. Before the kiss could gain any heat through a set of claws dug into Bucky’s leg.

“For the love of god, you don’t even live here,” Bucky groaned trying to get the cat to dienage. Steve, the little shit was laughing at him. 

“What you mean he doesn’t live here? He’s your cat?” Steve asked confused. 

“No, he’s not. He’s just a little shit who breaks in and makes my life hell,” Bucky said glaring at the cat who ignored him in favor of climbing into Steve’s lap who started petting him instantly. The cat even had the nerve to start purring like it wasn’t a torn in Bucky’s ass. 

“So that’s not even your cat,” Steve asked break into hysterical giggles.

“Nope,” Bucky said with a pop. 

“Don’t worry it can be  _ our  _ cat,” Steve said with a soft smile that Bucky knew was going to be the end of him someday. 

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on tumblr at youngavengersfeels


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